Attempting To Cope
by Karen Rhine
Summary: SEQUEL to Without You. Wufei experiences an inner struggle. Should he go home? Should he go to Duo? Even if he does...What waits for him back there? 2x5, 5x13
1. Decision

Disclaimer - I does not own no Gundam Wing or any of de characters in dis story! (teehee I feel silly)

_dreams_

------------------------------

-BEEP-

"You have...one...new message."

Wufei sighed, glancing over at his open laptop, the notice flashing across the screen. What was it going to be this time?

He hit the enter key, and the message popped up.

"Wufei, where are you? Why won't you reply to my messages? At least let me know you're alive!! You skipped out on me before we could go get our sake... Why did you leave Wufei? Please come home..."

He frowned. Duo... This was the fifth message he had received from the braided boy in a span of three days. This had probably been the calmest one he'd gotten, too. The others had either been extremely upset, angry, or a mixture of both. Though, he had every right to be. He didn't know, after all, if he was alive or not. But...

As much as the entire situation pained him, he couldn't bring himself to reply. He was going through so much right now, and if he replied, he was worried Duo would try to drag him back. He couldn't go back. Not yet. He was dealing with so much and he couldn't be around familiar people. The last battle...Treize...

No one knew it except himself and the man in question, but he had been in love with Treize. The entire situation was complicated, especially when it came to their last battle, and the whole fact that he had even battled the OZ leader in the first place. It wasn't something he could explain rationally. But still...He had _killed_ Treize. He didn't expect to, and when Trieze let himself be defeated so easily...

He shook his head, moving away from his laptop. Damnit. His head had been so jumbled up, even before the final battle. Too many feelings had been surfacing, and all they had succeeded in doing was confusing the hell out of him.

He loved Treize. But, recently, he had been feeling close to the same thing when he saw Duo, when he thought about him. He was falling in love with him, too. He had been for a while now. Every message he sent him made him want to run home, run to Duo. But then his guilt kicked in. Was he so fickle that he could be over Treize so quickly? The pain in his heart from losing Treize was so large. Mixing that with the prodding feelings for Duo... He didn't know what to do!

This was the turmoil he had gone through for a week now. Every new day, every new message, the turmoil got worse. What was he to do? Should he seek comfort in Duo's arms (if the other even felt that way about him)? Should he cast Treize aside and try to make things work with Duo? _Could_ he cast Treize aside so easily? Would it even be considered casting him aside...?

He grabbed the sides of his head and bent over. This was all too much to take. There was no one he could ask for advice. He usually turned to his clan, but they had all been killed in the war...He was all that was left... He had no one.

"Nataku...What should I do?" he whispered, staring up at the ceiling. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep.

_"Wufei," Treize smiled, lightly touching the Chinese boy's cheek. _

_"Y-yes?" he studdered, trying to force down a blush that was uncharacteristically trying to surface._

_"Stay with me this evening. Please. Leave the cold isolation of your gundam and feel the warm of company while you sleep."_

_Wufei took a step back, shocked at the request. Treize wanted to sleep with him? He eyed the OZ leader warily. Treize seemed to pick up on the hesitation and he raised his gloved hands in defense._

_"I am a gentleman," he explained calmly. "I will do nothing you do not allow me to. All I request is your company on this fine evening."_

_Nodding, Wufei gave in, leaving Nataku and following the other into his bedroom, where they both layed down for the evening._

_That night, Wufei lost his virginity to the most beautiful man in OZ._

Wufei jolted awake, that dream causing him to painfully remember the best night of his life. He wiped the tears off his cheeks and stood up, heading into his small kitchen to get a glass of water. Once there, he stared at the picture on the fridge. The 5 of them...Duo draped all over him... A smile played at his lips. He had been taken back, and angry, but what he didn't confess to Duo was that he had also been pleased. He reached out and touched the picture, his fingers lingering over Duo's cheek. Did he truly love him? That was a silly question. He was feeling many of the same things he felt about Treize, and he knew for sure that he had loved Treize, so that could only mean that he loved Duo as well...right?

As he drank, he thought. Part of him wanted to go back, to see Duo. The other part of him was hesitant. He had no idea if he could handle it. Going back into the living room, he glanced at his laptop, where all those messages were contained... His heart began to ache again. What if Duo was really hurting? Whether or not Duo had feelings for him, the two had gotten real close. Plus, Duo had wanted to go out for sake when they won the war, and Wufei had skipped out, leaving automatically. Surely that alone hurt the other.

He frowned, walked quickly into his bedroom, and yanked a bag out of the closet. He then began to pack. There was only one way to find out all the things nagging at him.

He was going back.


	2. Together Again

Disclaimer - I don't own Gundam Wing. Not at all. Just the obsession inside. ;)

------------------------------------------------

It was raining so hard; harder than it had in a while. Duo was a bit blown away by it. The rain mixed with the wind beating against his apartment was insane. It felt like the whole place was going to blow down. As he walked through his living room, listening to the raging storm outside, he pulled off his shirt, ready to sit in his usual spot on the couch. Flopping down, he slumped until he was comfortable and turned on the tv. It seemed like that was all he did anymore. He didn't work, he didn't socialize. He didn't have the energy for it. The state of depression he had sunk into drained him so much.

Quatre had called him over and over again, until Duo had finally answered. The blond boy always reminded him how worried he was about him. He would go on and on about how they should have lunch, they should get out, get his mind off things. He knew Quatre was only trying to help. Duo knew how unhealthy it was to be acting like he was. He couldn't help it though...

He had finally figured out his feelings. He knew, without a doubt, that he was in love with Wufei. He had made plans on how he was going to tell him. Now it was all shot. Wufei was gone. The one person he had grown to love since Solo, Father Maxwell, and Sister Helen had all been brutally taken from him when he was still a child. His heart had begun to open up again, to trust in others, to let himself fall for someone. Now that someone was gone. The pain it had put him in was practically unbearable.

The only thing he knew to do now was close himself off, so he wouldn't be hurt ever again. The thought brought a snort out of him. He was acting so immature about the whole thing. At this point, though, he didn't care.

The knock on his door seemed to distant at first. Like it wasn't actually there, it was just something he was imagining. As it got louder and didn't stop, though, he realized that there was really someone knocking on the door. He blinked and stared at it. Did he want to answer it? Did he care enough?

He sighed, deciding he should. Whoever was on the other side didn't seem to have any plans on giving up the knocking any time soon. He pushed himself up and walked over to the door. Opening it, he stared in disbelief at the sight in front of him, wondering if he was dreaming.

Wufei was standing right in front of him, panting, soaking wet. His hair had mostly fallen out of its tight ponytail and was stuck to the sides of his face and the back of his neck. He was slumped over slightly, giving off the sense that he'd been running. In his hand he tightly clutched a duffel bag that had fallen off his shoulder and landed in a puddle on the doorstep.

Duo knew he was staring. He was aware that his mouth was hanging open. He could feel the stinging hotness of tears threatening to fall down his cheeks.

"W-wufei?" he asked, still thinking he was dreaming. Wufei looked at him through stringy black strands, his eyes hazed over. Duo stared. Without a word, the Chinese boy fell forward, colliding with his fellow gundam pilot, and was unconscious almost instantly.

Sighing, Duo pulled Wufei into his arms and headed for his bedroom. Once in, he set the other on the bed, pulling off his wet outer layer, and tucking him under many warm blankets. He didn't want him to catch a cold. He then took a moment to let what all just happened sink in. He stared at the sleeping boy.

"Idiot..." he whispered, a tear sliding down his face. With that, he turned, gathered up the wet clothes, and leaving him to his slumber.

-------------

Wufei woke in a haze, his surroundings unfamiliar. Where was he? When he tried sitting up his vision went blurry and it felt like his whole world began spinning, which caused him to fall right back down onto the pillows. He sighed, covering his eyes with one hand. After waiting a few minutes, he opened his eyes again and looked around. This was definitely not his bedroom. But who's was it?

Faintly, a voice came from the other room. It was echoing, like it was very far away. His brows furrowed in concentration, and slowly, the voice got clearer.

"Yeah, he just...showed up." That voice... "Nope, didn't say a thing. He was soaking wet, and passed out pretty much right after I opened the door. Yeah, still sleeping. I have no clue. Okay. Yeah. Bye."

Footsteps, getting closer. He lifted his head a bit so he was able to see the door. When the door opened everything came back to him,

He had left. He'd packed up what he could, threw it all in his gundam, and left. After hiding Nataku, he headed for Duo's place, on foot. That's when it had started raining. Now, with Duo standing in front of him, it answered the question of if he had gotten there.

Duo...clad in his usual black outfit, that irritatingly adorable grin on his face.

"Welcome back to the world, Wu-man," he chuckled, hands on his hips.

"Duo...?" he groaned.

"Yeah, it's me." The American sighed and sat down on the edge of the bed. "And here I thought you were the smart one."

"What?"

"Walking around in the rain like that. You're gonna get dog sick." He shook his head, his long braid wagging slightly. "I put your clothes in the dryer, they should be done by now. Why don't you go take a hot shower?"

He stood up, offering him a hand. Wufei accepted, and was pulled to his feet. He wobbled a bit, but quickly found his footing. Letting go barely, Duo motioned to another door in the room.

"Bathroom's in there, complete with all your shower needs. While you're doing that I'll make you some chai tea."

And with that, he was gone as quickly as he'd left. Wufei stood there for a moment, but grinned. Duo had remembered that he loved chai...

Snapping back into the present, he carefully made his way to the bathroom, where there were indeed all his shower needs. His, specifically, which was a bit more surprising. Thinking back, he vaguely remembered carrying a bag with him as he walked - his supplies must have been in there.

He stripped down, tossing his remaining clothes in a pile near the door, turned on the hot water, and stepped into the shower. He closed his eyes, letting the warmth slide down his skin. Every muscle in his body relaxed, and he let out a calm sigh. The water felt so refreshing and wonderful on his chilled body. He leaned against the wall of the shower, not opening his eyes, and stood there for what seemed like the longest time. Finally, once he had decided it was time to actually get clean, he opened his eyes and pushed off the marble, grabbing a washcloth and getting to business.

-------------

In the kitchen, Duo was leaning over the stove, staring at the pot of water that was close to boiling and listening to the sounds of his shower turning on. He straightened himself and stretched, trying to put it all together. Wufei showing up, collapsing in his arms, sleeping the day away in his bed, showering in his shower...

He didn't know what to think. Wufei up and left, not making contact with anyone, and then randomly showed back up? He could've been dead on the side of the road somewhere for all he knew... He had been SO worried, SO scared, and now here he was. Duo had never felt so confused about his situation. The questions were racing through his mind so fast he could barely grasp a single one of them.

He held his forehead before getting together the tea and a cup. Once the water boiled he poured it into the cup and tossed in the tea packet. While he let it sit, he walked back towards the bedroom, knocking on the bathroom door.

"Tea's ready, whenever you are," he informed the Chinese boy inside, and left again before hearing if the other had replied. He set the cup on the table and sat across from the place. What was he going to say when Wufei walked into the room? Anything? He was angry, relieved, anxious, and overjoyed all at the same time, and he felt like he was about to explode because of it all.

Wufei pulled him out of his thoughts by sliding into the empty seat and taking a sip of the hot tea. Duo looked up at him, watching silently, taking in the sight. His stomach got all fluttery as he gazed at the beautiful boy. It seemed to be more intense than it had ever been, perhaps from not seeing him so long.

"Thank you for the tea, and the shower, Duo," the other finally spoke. Duo snapped out of his trance and slipped into his usual self, grinning cheesily and leaning back in his chair.

"Eh, no prob," he replied, gesturing with his hand. He noticed Wufei smile ever so slightly before turning his attention back to his tea. Duo lowered his hand, his grin softening a great deal, as he went back to just watching Wufei.

They sat together in silence as Wufei drank the rest of his tea.

"I'm sorry to be imposing like this." Duo stared, baffled.

"Imposing? You're not imposing, Wu!"

Wufei nodded, setting down the now-empty cup.

"I don't...really have a place..." he spoke softly. Duo could tell why, he was wanting to ask if he could stay here, at least for a while, but was too proud and didn't want to burden him with it. Duo snorted, causing Wufei to blink.

"You can stay here as long as you need to, and no, you won't be burdening me."

"But, how will I fit?" Wufei asked. Duo rolled his eyes.

"Of course you'll fit."

Wufei sighed and glanced at the floor.

"Where will I...sleep?"

"Bed, of course."

"No!" the Chinese boy almost shouted. He calmed immediately. "I mean, that's _your_ bed, Duo. I don't want to take that from you. I will do just fine on your couch."

Duo shook his head, he wasn't going to accept that.

"Nope. I'll sleep on the couch, you're gonna get the bed. You're my guest, I don't want to confine you to the couch." He spoke with a firmness that left no room for argue, yet to his surprise, Wufei didn't argue. It was suspicious, he was acting so different...

Instead of shouting, calling him Maxwell, and stomping off to make camp on the couch, Wufei just nodded in defeat, continuing to stare at the floor. After a moment, he stood.

"I guess I should get some more sleep..." he muttered. "Chai always makes me sleepy."

And with that, he left again, going back into the bedroom. All Duo could do was stare after him, baffled and amazed. He was NOT acting like himself. He took the cup off the table and stuck it in the sink, before quietly walking over to the bedroom and peering in.

He saw Wufei sitting on the edge of the bed, elbows on his knees, his face in his hands. His body seemed to be shaking ever so slightly, but he was quiet. Was he crying?

Puzzled and worried, Duo slowly made his way to his couch. He stretched out, sticking his hands behind his head as a makeshift pillow, and stared up at the ceiling fan. What was going on? He had to ask Wufei soon...

He soon fell to sleep, resting on so many thoughts he was sure to have a headache in the morning.


End file.
